9 Companies Microsoft Devoured or Sued Into Oblivion

aQuantive (2007)

Never let it be said that jealousy is not a driver. Only a month after Google bought DoubleClick for $3.1 billion, solidifying that it would be a major player in online advertising, everyone got in on the act. Yahoo spent $680 million for Right Media and Microsoft went nuts for aQuantive.

That company, founded in 1997 and based in Seattle near Microsoft, provided digital marketing and services. Microsoft thought it was worth $6.33 billion—the most it had ever paid for anything (until it bought Skype). Some at the company likened the deal to a merger more than an acquisition. Just like that, Microsoft was ready to be a digital advertiser.
Now, five years later, the online division in Redmond isn't doing so well; Microsoft is taking a $6.2 billion tax write-down because of that purchase.